Sociology

Do you want to change the world? Get the tools you will need through the Sociology major at Mills College. Join a lively and welcoming community of scholars interested in learning about everything from public health issues to educational inequality to gentrification and urban change. Take courses such as Sociology of Hip-Hop, Social Control, or Gender and Society to learn more about how our society works and how we can change it. Rapid social change, powered in part by the information technology revolution, has transformed the world into a "global village." The sociological imagination offers a way to make sense of life in our age. Sociology at Mills teaches a clear set of marketable skills to our students including high quality writing, public speaking, social science research methods, professional networking, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Our graduates leave Mills with a strong combination of marketable skills and depth of sociological knowledge.

And, as a part of a liberal arts education, sociology courses offer exciting, insightful experiences for all students. Several of our courses engage the larger Bay Area community through internships, partnerships, and service learning.

The Sociology Program offers courses on many different topics that meet a wide range of student interests. By combining these courses and courses in related fields, students can create their own areas of concentration such as inequality in the criminal justice system, urban studies, race and educational inequality, contemporary immigration, or law and society.

While some majors choose to pursue a graduate degree in sociology, most recent graduates have gone on to fields such as law, public health, urban and regional planning, business, public policy, or social work. Regardless of one's career plans, the sociology major is an excellent foundation for lifelong learning and citizenship in the global village.

Please talk to an advisor in the Sociology department to learn more about Anthropology at Mills.

Program Goals

Students will utilize multiple theoretical frameworks and sociological vocabulary to explain how historical forces, social structures, culture, and power relations shape human behavior on scales ranging from the individual to the global.

Students will gain basic skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis and will have advanced skills in at least one method of research and one method of data analysis.

Students will be effective communicators who can construct and present well-organized, coherent, sociological arguments in writing, speaking, and other media to a variety of audiences.

Students will accumulate a stock of established and accepted research findings and be able to critically use these to understand their own lives and the world around them, and to contribute to public conversations about contemporary issues.

Major

Minor

An introduction to basic sociological concepts, theories, and methods. Students in the course will be encouraged to develop &quot;sociological imagination,&quot; that is, an understanding of the connection between personal biography and history. Course content will include an examination of social structure and culture (and the relationship between these two concepts), the socialization process, the major social institutions and their impact, the nature of inequality in society, and deviant behavior and social problems.

Meets the following Core requirements: Critical Analysis

Meets the following Gen Ed requirements: Human Institutions and Behavior

Students will utilize multiple theoretical frameworks and sociological vocabulary to explain how historical forces, social structures, culture, and power relations shape human behavior on scales ranging from the individual to the global. (Introduced, Practiced)

Students will compare and contrast how major social institutions operate in two different cultures, economies, or historical periods.

Students will gain basic skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis and will have advanced skills in at least one method of research and one method of data analysis. (Introduced, Practiced)

Students will manipulate survey data using quantitative methods and create qualitative interview questions in homework assignments.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Introduced)

Students will be able to explain multiple sides of a sociological debate. They will demonstrate how sociological data can be used to shed light on highly ideological social problems.

Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Introduced)

Students will compare and contrast how major social institutions operate in two different cultures, economies, or historical periods.

Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Introduced)

Students will demonstrate their understanding of how knowledge about inequality has changed over time. They will show in their written assignments that they understand how researchers' thinking about race, family, deviance, and other sociological topics has changed over time.

Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Introduced)

Students will show in their written assignments how different sociological ways of framing a problem lead to different sets of sociological questions. We will use changing families, gender discrimination at work, and inequality in education as examples.

Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Introduced)

Students will describe the outline of the social science research process including the research question, a research method, and potential findings. This will be accomplished through exercises with various types of data. Students will also demonstrate understanding of the ethical and sociological implications of various research findings and methods.

Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Introduced)

Students will be encouraged to attend at least one on-campus event that relates to the sociological ideas introduced in the course.

Students will compare different types of course readings including empirical research articles and theoretical explanations.

Have a command of the basic concepts from one of the disciplines (Introduced)

Students will be familiar with basic sociological concepts including social structure, culture, socialization, power, and deviance.

Apply basic findings from one of the disciplines (Introduced)

Students will explain how inequality in at least two of the following areas (income, education, employment, criminal justice, or politics) is created and or sustained in the United States.

Understand how theories of human behavior are tested scientifically (Introduced)

Students will describe the outline of the social research process including the research question, a research method, and potential findings. This will be accomplished, in part, through exercises with U.S. Census data.

SOC 058: Social Problems (3 Credits)

This course acquaints students with theoretical and empirical aspects of some of the major social problems afflicting American society and the world. Topics may include crime and delinquency, poverty, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, family violence, prejudice and discrimination, and environmental pollution. Emphasis is placed on the objective and subjective aspects of social problems and their proposed remedies and solutions. Students are exposed to the roles that power and influence play in defining social problems, in maintaining existing conditions, and in promoting social change.

Note(s): Service learning component is optional.

SOC 060: Business &amp; Society (3-4 Credits)

This course will introduce students to an analysis of how businesses and other organizations interact with the communities around them. Students will learn about the social impacts of businesses and how social entrepreneurship bridges social goals and business plans. Nonprofit organizations will also be discussed as organizations working within the larger social context. Students will also learn about organizations and inequality.

Students will utilize multiple theoretical frameworks and sociological vocabulary to explain how historical forces, social structures, culture, and power relations shape human behavior on scales ranging from the individual to the global. (Introduced)

Students can explain the factors affecting the relationship between an individual and the larger society.

Students use established sociological concepts appropriately.

Students will gain basic skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis and will have advanced skills in at least one method of research and one method of data analysis. (Introduced)

Students choose and execute data analysis techniques best suited to explain a social phenomenon.

Students will be effective communicators who can construct and present well-organized, coherent, sociological arguments in writing, speaking, and other media to a variety of audiences. (Introduced)

Students acquire the habit of revising and editing all written work in an iterative fashion before a final version is complete.

Students construct well-organized, coherent, arguments in writing that draw on sociological data and vocabulary.

Students will accumulate a stock of established and accepted research findings and be able to critically use these to understand their own lives and the world around them, and to contribute to public conversations about contemporary issues. (Introduced)

Students will participate in public conversations about sociological issues either through conferences, workshops, interactions with mass media, or other public engagements.

Students will be able to analyze contemporary sociological research in their work and use it to explain social and cultural phenomena.

SOC 091: Methods of Social Research with Lab (4 Credits)

An introduction to the techniques social scientists use to answer empirical questions. Topics include how to read published research; collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data; communicate research results; distinguish between empirical, ideological, theoretical, and ethical questions; formulate research questions; and use computers to access, organize, analyze, and display social science data. Actual research methods covered vary from year to year but generally include social observation, interviewing, and surveys.

Interpretation: Students will have the ability to explain information presented in mathematical and computational forms. (Practiced)

Students will identify and correctly use statistical methods appropriate to the analysis of specific policy problems, such as descriptive statistics, sampling, crosstabulation, or linear regression.

Representation: Students will be able to convert information into mathematical and computational forms analytically and/or using computational tools. (Practiced)

Students will identify and correctly use statistical methods appropriate to the analysis of specific policy problems, such as descriptive statistics, sampling, crosstabulation, or linear regression.

Analysis: Students will be able to draw appropriate conclusions using mathematical or computational reasoning and understand the limits of such conclusions and the assumptions on which they are based. (Practiced)

Students will identify and correctly use statistical methods appropriate to the analysis of specific policy problems, such as descriptive statistics, sampling, crosstabulation, or linear regression.

Communication: Students will be able to communicate quantitative ideas in the languages of mathematics, computer science, or quantitative social sciences and will be able to utilize quantitative information in support of an argument. (Practiced)

Students will identify and correctly use statistical methods appropriate to the analysis of specific policy problems, such as descriptive statistics, sampling, crosstabulation, or linear regression.

SOC 094: Sociology of Mass Communication (3 Credits)

This course is designed as an introductory sociological study of mass communications. It is intended to provide an understanding of the interaction between individuals, media, and society; analytic insight into how media content is created and disseminated; and knowledge of the organizational structures of various mass media. Advertising, news, politics, gender, class, and race issues are examined.

SOC 099: CRIMINOLOGY (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 100: UTOPIA: SEARCH OF COMMON GOOD (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 101: Sociology of Families (3-4 Credits)

How do families change over time and across cultures? Is divorce bad for children? Do children raised by LGBTQ+ parents have better or worse outcomes than children raised by heterosexual couples? How do racism and economic opportunities shape marriage rates? This course explores controversial issues for families and uses a sociological lens to understand how race, gender, sexuality, and class shape the way families are organized.

Students will accumulate a stock of established and accepted research findings and be able to critically use these to understand their own lives and the world around them, and to contribute to public conversations about contemporary issues. (Practiced)

Students will review research findings on outcomes for different kinds of families so they can contribute to the public dialogue about family structure (LGBTQ parenting, African American marriage rates, etc.)

Core Goals:

Race, Gender & Power

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze race and gender as socially constructed, dynamic identity categories related to systems of power and privilege. (Practiced)

Students will examine how racism, patriarchy, and capitalism have shaped the changing US family forms over the decades. They will also demonstrate how changing public policy can alleviate some of the stresses from racism, patriarchy, and capitalism on vulnerable families.

Students will analyze the ways in which race and gender intersect with other identity categories including sexuality, class, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, citizenship and nationality. (Practiced)

Students will explore how race and gender interact with sexuality, immigration status, and class to impact family structure and family well-being. Students will identify and examine key research findings on these issues.

Students will demonstrate familiarity with the ways that marginalized communities have resisted structures of power through social movements, civic engagement, artistic expression, and scholarship. (Practiced)

Students will describe the phenomena of other-mothering, extended families, grandparent care-givers and other adaptations and forms of resistance that marginalized families have used to survive and thrive.

Students will be able to engage with the intellectual and theoretical contributions of marginalized communities, and contrast them with dominant perspectives. (Practiced)

Students will identify theories of power, domination, and resistance related to family structure and created by members of marginalized communities. Students will also review dominant theories of the family and make contrasts when there are some.

Students will communicate effectively across differences with an understanding of their own social location. (Practiced)

All students will summarize about the obstacles and opportunities for many different families through qualitative and quantitative research findings. Students will also reflect on these research findings in relation to their own family experiences.

SOC 106: SPORT AND SOCIETY (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 108: Urban Sociology (3 Credits)

The process of urbanization, with special reference to the evolution of cities in the United States and Canada. Social, economic, and political forces that have shaped cities will be considered. Major concerns of urban residents, and the role of local, state, and federal governments in addressing these concerns will be examined.

SOC 109: DESIGN OF CITIES:URBAN (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 112: Social Control (3 Credits)

A sociological inquiry into how human groups define and react to &quot;deviant&quot; behavior. Topics include how law, violence, threats, hostage taking, banishment, restitution, ridicule, gossip, etiquette, science, and conscience are used to keep individuals and organizations &quot;in line&quot; in realms such as art, business, religion, language, diplomacy, community life, schools, personal relationships, conversation, families, scientific research, the professions, and the workplace.

SOC 116: History of Sociological Thought (3 Credits)

The works of leading sociological theorists, the historical-ideological setting of each theorist, and major trends of development of sociological thought, with particular reference to the 19th and 20th centuries. Intensive reading in the primary sources.

A multidisciplinary course about mapping the social world. Theoretically challenging and hands-on, the course material will draw from cartography, demography, epidemiology, geography, urban design, human ecology, marketing, sociology, statistics, and urban studies. In addition to the sociology of spatial distribution, students will use geographic information system (GIS) software to make, interpret, and critique maps and other displays of spatial data and will learn to apply such skills to practical community, commercial, or scientific problems.

SOC 129: Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S. (3 Credits)

A holistic approach to race and ethnic relations in the U.S., emphasizing macro-sociological issues of race and ethnic group assimilation and discrimination. Examines the creation and maintenance of institutional racism and its relationship to other forms of social inequality, such as gender and class. Special attention is given to the federal system of government and other major societal institutions as they influence processes of elite and subordinate group formation and maintenance in American life.

Explain, discuss and describe past political, economic, and social interactions that have impacted race and ethnic relations in the U.S.

Recognize both differences and similarities between past eras and the present (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)

Compare and contrast these past events.

Multicultural Perspectives

Demonstrate understanding of culture and cultural identities as dynamic rather than fixed categories, and describe the diverse ways in which they are produced, transformed, and maintained (Introduced, Practiced, Mastered)

Discuss and explain the changing definitions of racial and ethnic groups as part of the process of becoming an American citizen.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of racial and ethnic formation and stratification in national and transnational contexts, considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality (Introduced, Practiced)

Explain, discuss, and critique the racial and ethnic social stratification system in the U.S. from its inception as at nation to the present.

Describe how two or more ethnic groups have interacted in different historical contexts, and be able to discuss the dynamics of that relationship (Introduced, Practiced)

Describe and explain the process of group interaction between the three primary racial groups (Whites, Blacks, Native Americans, and Asians) in the U.S. from its inception as a nation to the present.

Describe and explain the process of group interaction between the three primary ethnic groups (WASPs, Irish, Italians, and Jews) in the U.S. from its inception as a nation to the present.

Demonstrate an understanding of processes of group formation and describe how marginalized groups have used diverse strategies to challenge racism and discrimination (Introduced, Practiced)

Describe and explain the group mobilization strategies of racial groups and ethnic groups (specifically the Irish, Jews, and Italians) in combating racial and ethnic group prejudice and discrimination in the U.S.

SOC 132: Comparative Race and Ethnic Relations (3 Credits)

This course examines the relationship between race and ethnic stratification and the creation and maintenance of centralized national devotion or social stability in numerous heterogeneous nations. This includes, but is not limited to, the U.S.A., Mexico, Nigeria, Ireland, Canada, and the former U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, India, and Iraq. We will use a comparative macro-sociological approach that focuses on the conflict management roles of governmental and non-governmental institutions and agencies that attempt to promote social stability, social control, and national unity.

Demonstrate understanding of culture and cultural identities as dynamic rather than fixed categories, and describe the diverse ways in which they are produced, transformed, and maintained (Introduced, Practiced)

Compare and contrast the cultural variables that impact group formation, identity, and status during the nation-building process.

Compare and contrast the changing group dynamics that perpetuate social change or enhance social stability.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of racial and ethnic formation and stratification in national and transnational contexts, considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality (Introduced, Practiced)

Analyze, compare and contrast the historical development of racial and ethnic groups and stratification systems in the various nations under study.

Describe how two or more ethnic groups have interacted in different historical contexts, and be able to discuss the dynamics of that relationship (Introduced, Practiced)

Compare and contrast the relationship between the dominant group and the significant subordinate group(s) in a society throughout the nation-building process..

SOC 134: Social Inequality (3 Credits)

Theories examining the dimensions, sources, and consequences of social inequality. The multidimensional nature of the U.S. stratification system. Pluralist and elitist views of the power structure. Sociological differences in life chances, lifestyles, and cultural values.

SOC 142: Medical Sociology (3 Credits)

Use of the sociological perspective in understanding the nature of disease, health, and medical care. Topics will include culturally based notions of health and illness, social roles of patients and healthcare providers, physician socialization, the distribution of diseases and medical resources, ethical issues in healthcare, and women in the health system.

Note(s): Service learning component is optional.

Instructor Consent Required: Y

SOC 144: Sociology of Childhood (3-4 Credits)

How are children's lives different across class and race in the United States? Why are some children seen as dangerous and others in need of protection and care? What are the pros and cons of treating teenagers as children? This course explores the ways that education, family structure, the criminal justice system, and the child welfare system affect the lives of children in the U.S. Special attention will be paid to intersections of race, class, gender, immigration, and sexuality.

Meets the following Core requirements: Community Engagement, Race, Gender & Power

Students will apply concepts and skills explored in their Mills education (or specific service learning class if relevant) in a practical community based context. (Introduced)

Students will work in schools or local community based organizations with a focus on youth development. Students will be able to see how the organization or school is working to solve one of the issues we are learning about in relation to youth and inequality.

Student​s​ will demonstrate the ability to engage with community organizations on projects that are meaningful to both the organizations and students. (Introduced)

Students will talk with field supervisors about leadership styles and challenges. Students will also demonstrate leadership skills through contributions to staff meetings or consultations.

Students will develop the ability to engage in thoughtful, self-reflective and ethical collaboration in a community setting. (Introduced)

All students will be asked to write reflective papers that draw on their experiences in the field and analyze them in relation to the readings in the course.

Race, Gender & Power

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze race and gender as socially constructed, dynamic identity categories related to systems of power and privilege. (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate the ways that race, class, and gender categories have changed over time for children and how those changes lead to different outcomes in well being.

Students will analyze the ways in which race and gender intersect with other identity categories including sexuality, class, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, citizenship and nationality. (Practiced)

Students will identify the ways that race and gender intersect with class, sexuality, and immigration status in the lives of children and the implications for children's lives.

Students will demonstrate familiarity with the ways that marginalized communities have resisted structures of power through social movements, civic engagement, artistic expression, and scholarship. (Practiced)

Students will outline how marginalized communities used creative strategies to care for their children despite oppressive actions from the state.

Students will be able to engage with the intellectual and theoretical contributions of marginalized communities, and contrast them with dominant perspectives. (Practiced)

Students will identify key theories from authors of marginalized identities and perspectives and be able to contrast those theories with dominant theories of child development and care.

Students will communicate effectively across differences with an understanding of their own social location. (Practiced)

Students will describe how their own childhood may have been impacted by dimensions of racial, gender, or class power that shaped their obstacles and opportunities.

SOC 145: Sociology of Education (3-4 Credits)

This course is organized around issues of diversity, acculturation, and quality in educating children and adults in the United States. Students will examine the dynamic complexities of formal education as it reflects the norms, values, mores, and traditions of the society. Utilizing structural-functionalist, symbolic interaction, and conflict theories, we will explore the processes of social control and social change endemic to the American system of education and its attendant institutions. United States educational policies are critically assessed through cross-national comparisons.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of racial and ethnic formation and stratification in national and transnational contexts, considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality (Introduced, Practiced)

Compare and contrast the historical uses of education in constructing, maintaining, and changing norms and systems of race, ethnic, class, gender, and sexual stratification nationally and internationally.

Describe how two or more ethnic groups have interacted in different historical contexts, and be able to discuss the dynamics of that relationship (Introduced, Practiced)

Identify, compare, and explain dominant group uses and control of formal systems of education to maintain racial and ethnic stratification.

Identify, compare, and explain subordinate group reactions to formal systems of education in the USA.

SOC 146: Sociology of Hip-Hop (3-4 Credits)

This course investigates the social, political, and economic context of hip-hop in the post-civil rights U.S. Urban areas have changed in profound ways during this time with increased policing, drugs and the drug wars, persistent racism, failing schools, increased joblessness, and dramatically changing family structures, all of which have shaped hip-hop. The course examines these sociological issues and their expression in the four foundational elements of hip-hop: rapping, DJ-ing, breaking, and graffiti art, as well as spoken word, hip-hop leadership, and politics.

Meets the following Core requirements: Community Engagement, Race, Gender & Power

Students will apply concepts and skills explored in their Mills education (or specific service learning class if relevant) in a practical community based context. (Introduced)

Students will help plan, organize, and lead the annual Hip-Hop 4 Change conference at Mills College each spring.

Student​s​ will demonstrate the ability to engage with community organizations on projects that are meaningful to both the organizations and students. (Introduced)

Students will help lead activities, discussion groups, and planning sessions related to the Hip-Hop 4 Change conference (or a related conference). These conferences are focused on youth and for the larger Bay Area public.

Students will develop the ability to engage in thoughtful, self-reflective and ethical collaboration in a community setting. (Introduced)

Students will complete at least one assignment that requires thoughtful reflection about their conference work in relation to the course readings. The assignment also requires that students reflect on their own social location in relation to the work they did.

Race, Gender & Power

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze race and gender as socially constructed, dynamic identity categories related to systems of power and privilege. (Practiced)

In their written and/or multimedia assignments, students are required to demonstrate a critical understanding of how race, gender, and class work together in the post-civil rights U.S. and post-industrial economy.

Students will analyze the ways in which race and gender intersect with other identity categories including sexuality, class, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, citizenship and nationality. (Practiced)

In this course, students will describe examples of how race and gender intersect with class and sexuality to create controlling images of African American and Latin@ people. Students will draw on examples from any of the four foundational elements of hip-hop.

Students will demonstrate familiarity with the ways that marginalized communities have resisted structures of power through social movements, civic engagement, artistic expression, and scholarship. (Practiced)

Students will describe how hip-hop has served as a form of cultural and economic resistance to various forms of oppressions including race, gender, class, and sexuality. Students will provide examples of artists and entrepreneurs who have participated in larger hip-hop social movements for social justice.

Students will be able to engage with the intellectual and theoretical contributions of marginalized communities, and contrast them with dominant perspectives. (Practiced)

Hip-hop is primarily comprised of marginalized voices. Students will read and listen to those perspectives along with those of the scholars who analyze hip-hop. The scholars assigned in this class are also representing communities who have traditionally been excluded from knowledge production. Students will examine through their written work and their multi-media presentations how all of these voices "speak back" against larger social forces and powerful elites.

Students will communicate effectively across differences with an understanding of their own social location. (Practiced)

Students will complete at least one assignment that requires thoughtful reflection about their conference work in relation to the course readings. The assignment also requires that students reflect on their own social location in relation to the work they did.

SOC 149: Sociology of U.S. Immigration (3-4 Credits)

This course examines contemporary immigration to the U.S. within a historical context. Key themes include the relationship between immigration and the economy, education, language, politics, and ethnic identity. The history of U.S. immigration policy is central to our examination of racial and ethnic discrimination and assimilation. In addition, we will compare the immigration experiences of various ethnic groups such as Europeans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Mexicans, Central Americans, Africans, Middle Easterners, and others.

SOC 155: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 156: Sociology of Oakland (4 Credits)

This course is a sociological examination of the city of Oakland. The focus is on postwar development and the race, gender and class dynamics that have shaped the city. The course focuses on four sociological themes: housing, education, crime, and activism. Students will analyze quantitative and qualitative data to understand the sociological issues facing the city and possibilities for social change. The course will also use community engaged learning practices to connect readings to organizations and people in the city of Oakland.

Meets the following Core requirements: Critical Analysis, Community Engagement, Race, Gender & Power

Students will gain basic skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis and will have advanced skills in at least one method of research and one method of data analysis. (Introduced)

Students will effectively use US Census data to creates tables and maps that enhance their understanding of the social processes in Oakland. Students will also conduct qualitative interviews with city residents to further understand local attitudes toward the city.

Core Goals:

Critical Analysis

Students will critically analyze information and ideas. (Practiced)

Students will examine various types of data on education, housing and crime in Oakland. They will demonstrate critical engagement with the data by asking questions about its assumptions, framing of the problem, and data collection. Moreover, they will demonstrate through assignments how the data can be used to help or hurt communities.

Students will examine issues from multiple perspectives. (Practiced)

All students will participate in in-class exercises that require creative problem-solving of the city's biggest challenges. The exercises require students to please multiple constituencies.

Students will engage in an exploration of the relationship between past systems of knowledge and present scholarly and creative approaches within and across disciplines. (Practiced)

In research papers, students will demonstrate how new intersectional frameworks inform our thinking about and organizing in social movements.

Students will consider how our understanding of significant questions and ideas is informed by the critical, scholarly, and creative approaches through which we approach those questions and ideas. (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate through class assignments how solutions to issues such as crime and schooling are framed in the city. Students will examine the role that discourse plays in framing a problem and describe how that limits the possible solutions.

Students will develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information. (Practiced)

Students will analyze various types of data: US Census data, educational data, crime data, and urban ethnographic data to examine the city's biggest challenges and assets. Students will critically examine the outcomes of various social policies informed by this data.

Students will engage as active participants in the College's intellectual community. (Practiced)

Through the social mapping project, students will share their critical analysis of inequality in Oakland with the greater campus community. They will share the mapping projects by displaying them in campus buildings or on a shared website for the public.

Community Engagement

Students will apply concepts and skills explored in their Mills education (or specific service learning class if relevant) in a practical community based context. (Introduced)

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of how race/class/gender shape school inequality in their community engagement contexts with local Oakland schools.

Student​s​ will demonstrate the ability to engage with community organizations on projects that are meaningful to both the organizations and students. (Introduced)

I will lead teams of students in each community placement to work in collaboration with an organization guided with participatory action research principles. Students will work with those organizations on projects that give the organizations information they need and provide our students with useful social science skills.

Students will develop the ability to engage in thoughtful, self-reflective and ethical collaboration in a community setting. (Introduced)

Students will demonstrate through community engagement journal assignments their ability to reflect on their social position and their work in the off campus context.

Race, Gender & Power

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze race and gender as socially constructed, dynamic identity categories related to systems of power and privilege. (Practiced)

In the social mapping assignment, students will demonstrate how race, gender, and class intersect to cause unequal outcomes across the city on a dimension of their choice.

Students will analyze the ways in which race and gender intersect with other identity categories including sexuality, class, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, citizenship and nationality. (Practiced)

In the neighborhood research project students will demonstrate how at least one of the following dimensions (class, immigration status, or sexuality) interact with race and gender to contribute to different experiences of inequality across Oakland.

Students will demonstrate familiarity with the ways that marginalized communities have resisted structures of power through social movements, civic engagement, artistic expression, and scholarship. (Practiced)

In the neighborhood research paper or the policy analysis paper, students must discuss how social activists in Oakland have engaged the social issue they are analyzing. Students must also refer to the history of Oakland activism introduced in course readings.

Students will be able to engage with the intellectual and theoretical contributions of marginalized communities, and contrast them with dominant perspectives. (Practiced)

In each of the major assignments, students must draw on course readings, most of which are authored by people of color from urban areas who are scholars engaged in urban analysis.

Students will communicate effectively across differences with an understanding of their own social location. (Practiced)

In the neighborhood research paper, students will analyze how their own social location affected their experiences talking with people in the neighborhood they studied. Students will pay particular attention to race, class, and gender.

SOC 158: Gender and Society (3 Credits)

The course investigates gender inequality in the United States with some global comparison. Focus is on social construction of femininity, masculinity, gendered violence, wage gap, intersectionality, family, work, health, media, and social movements.

Demonstrate an awareness of the distinctive contributions of women to culture or history or science (Introduced)

Students will outline major feminist theories and list their authors.

Demonstrate awareness of the impact of race, class, national origin, and other significant differences as well as the commonalties in women's experience (Practiced)

Students will practice applying the concept of intersectionality to various social problems.

Students will assess how power shapes women's experiences in relation to race, class, nationality, sexuality, and other differences.

Students will also demonstrate how women come together across difference to work in coalitions.

Demonstrate familiarity with theories of gender (Practiced)

Students will debate the merits of several major feminist theories in explaining gender inequality. They will demonstrate knowledge of the stregnths and weaknesses of each perspective.

Analyze current and past social issues pertaining to gender (Practiced)

Students will assess the arguments for and against current social issues and policies and assess their gendered impact.

Demonstrate familiarity with the history and effects of feminist thought (Practiced)

Students will draw connections between feminist theory and feminist social policy.

SOC 160: Political Sociology (3 Credits)

Introduction to the dynamics of power in society, from small group interactions to national and international actions and interactions. Emphasis is on American political institutions and participation. Special attention is placed on the economy, race/ethnicity, gender, citizenship, nation building, and federalism on modern political processes.

Demonstrate understanding of culture and cultural identities as dynamic rather than fixed categories, and describe the diverse ways in which they are produced, transformed, and maintained (Introduced, Practiced)

Compare and contrast socio-political behavior that positively and negatively impact dominate and subordinate group cultural and societal identities.

Compare and contrast the changing group dynamics that perpetuate changes in group identities and socio-political status.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of racial and ethnic formation and stratification in national and transnational contexts, considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality (Introduced, Practiced)

Analyze, compare, and contrast, nationally and internationally, the historical development of political stratification based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.

Demonstrate an understanding of processes of group formation and describe how marginalized groups have used diverse strategies to challenge racism and discrimination (Introduced, Practiced)

Compare and contrast the power dynamics of subordinate groups in challenging systems of discrimination and subordination.

SOC 164: COMP SOC:SOC CULT INDIA (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 171: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 172: Body Politics: Race, Gender, and Power (3-4 Credits)

Cosmetic surgery, skin bleaching, reproductive justice, and dancing: what do they all have in common? Body politics. The course will focus on topics such as policing and the construction of criminal bodies, the beauty industry and the construction of ugly bodies, healthcare and the construction of sick bodies, reproductive justice and the construction of fertile/irresponsible bodies. The readings will offer an intersectional approach to studying the body by looking at race, gender, class, citizenship, abilities, and sexuality.

Students will utilize multiple theoretical frameworks and sociological vocabulary to explain how historical forces, social structures, culture, and power relations shape human behavior on scales ranging from the individual to the global. (Practiced)

Students can explain the factors affecting the relationship between an individual and the larger society.

Students can describe the major tenets of a variety of sociological frameworks.

Students use established sociological concepts appropriately.

Students will be effective communicators who can construct and present well-organized, coherent, sociological arguments in writing, speaking, and other media to a variety of audiences. (Practiced)

Students acquire the habit of revising and editing all written work in an iterative fashion before a final version is complete.

Students construct well-organized, coherent, arguments in writing that draw on sociological data and vocabulary.

Students demonstrate best practices in oral presentations including use of professional presentation software, effective time management, voice projection and self-presentation, and effective interaction with the audience.

Students will accumulate a stock of established and accepted research findings and be able to critically use these to understand their own lives and the world around them, and to contribute to public conversations about contemporary issues. (Practiced)

Students will participate in public conversations about sociological issues either through conferences, workshops, interactions with mass media, or other public engagements.

Students will be able to critically engage current research findings and identify the strengths and weaknesses of various research designs.

Students will be able to analyze contemporary sociological research in their work and use it to explain social and cultural phenomena.

Core Goals:

Race, Gender & Power

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze race and gender as socially constructed, dynamic identity categories related to systems of power and privilege. (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate how race, sexuality, and gender are embodied differently in different contexts and in different historical eras.

Students will analyze the ways in which race and gender intersect with other identity categories including sexuality, class, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, citizenship and nationality. (Practiced)

Through assignments, students will demonstrate how race and gender intersect with sexuality, class, disability, and age to mark bodies in different ways, and with differing levels of status.

Students will demonstrate familiarity with the ways that marginalized communities have resisted structures of power through social movements, civic engagement, artistic expression, and scholarship. (Practiced)

Students will describe social movements focused on resistance and reclamation of power over the body in marginalized communities.

Students will be able to engage with the intellectual and theoretical contributions of marginalized communities, and contrast them with dominant perspectives. (Practiced)

Students will outline major thinkers from marginalized groups on issues of the body in intersectional perspective. In each assignment students must refer to and draw on key ideas from authors of marginalized communities (provided in the syllabus).

Students will communicate effectively across differences with an understanding of their own social location. (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate through reading responses shared with the class, their ability to communicate effectively with classmates of various social positions and the larger public. Students will show different communication styles for different audiences and an awareness of their own social location by writing about it in their papers.

General Education Goals:

Multicultural Perspectives

Demonstrate understanding of culture and cultural identities as dynamic rather than fixed categories, and describe the diverse ways in which they are produced, transformed, and maintained (Practiced)

Students will describe in their assignments the ways the body is gendered and racialized in the U.S. and in other national contexts. Students will compare these processes.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of racial and ethnic formation and stratification in national and transnational contexts, considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate through multimedia presentations how the body is racialized in relation to the criminal justice system or the beauty industry. Presentations will have a historical perspective to show the evolution of racial formation over time.

Describe how two or more ethnic groups have interacted in different historical contexts, and be able to discuss the dynamics of that relationship (Practiced)

Students will describe racial oppression and racial coalition building, especially among women of color, in assignments that focus on resistance to oppression across racial/ethnic groups.

Demonstrate an understanding of processes of group formation and describe how marginalized groups have used diverse strategies to challenge racism and discrimination (Practiced)

Students will outline key strategies that the disability rights movement has used in coordination with racial justice movements to challenge racism and ableism.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of and current debates surrounding the concept of multiculturalism, particularly with regard to racism and anti-racism (Practiced)

Students will describe anti-racist movements in the field/topic that they choose for their assignment. They will also outline the critiques of the multiculturalism movement.

Deploy the necessary critical tools to reflect on the artistic, literary, and intellectual traditions of marginalized groups-both nationally and internationally-and to appreciate the diversity of human thought and experience (Practiced)

Students will attend art exhibits/performing arts events and list the ways that multicultural/multiracial intellectual traditions are engaged through the art.

Women and Gender

Demonstrate an awareness of the distinctive contributions of women to culture or history or science (Practiced)

Students will engage women and trans* authors who are cultural critics on issues of the body. In papers, students will cite and analyze the authors' work.

Demonstrate awareness of the impact of race, class, national origin, and other significant differences as well as the commonalties in women's experience (Practiced)

All student work on gender and the body will articulate lines of difference for women, men, and trans* people across race, sexuality, national origin, class, and ability.

Demonstrate familiarity with theories of gender (Practiced)

Students must incorporate key feminist thinkers into their papers and relate feminist theory ideas into their analysis in their papers.

Analyze current and past social issues pertaining to gender (Practiced)

Students will describe how alterations of the body have changed over time in relation to femininity, beauty practices, and gender status.

Demonstrate familiarity with the history and effects of feminist thought (Practiced)

Students will outline the major tenets of at least 2 schools of feminist thought and the critiques of it in one assignment for the class.

SOC 179: Directed Research (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 180: Special Topics in Sociology (3 Credits)

Exploration of themes and/or topics not offered as part of the regular curriculum. Course content to be determined by the instructor. May be repeated for credit when topics differ.

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze race and gender as socially constructed, dynamic identity categories related to systems of power and privilege. (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate in all of their assignments the unique ways that race, gender, class, and sexuality are intertwined in people's lives by discussing the specificity of experience with oppression along these dimensions.

Students will analyze the ways in which race and gender intersect with other identity categories including sexuality, class, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, citizenship and nationality. (Practiced)

Students will outline the ways that disability, sexuality, and class all structure experiences of race and gender simultaneously. Students will critique grand narrative theories that erase differences among people by gender, race, etc.

Students will demonstrate familiarity with the ways that marginalized communities have resisted structures of power through social movements, civic engagement, artistic expression, and scholarship. (Practiced)

Students will focus on one specific historical social movement in the U.S. where people organized across issues of differences for a common social goal. Students will use social movement theorists to describe the challenges and successes of the movement.

Students will be able to engage with the intellectual and theoretical contributions of marginalized communities, and contrast them with dominant perspectives. (Practiced)

Students will outline major thinkers from marginalized groups on issues of the body in intersectional perspective. In each assignment students must refer to and draw on key ideas from authors of marginalized communities (provided in the syllabus).

Students will communicate effectively across differences with an understanding of their own social location. (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate through reading responses shared with the class, their ability to communicate effectively with classmates of various social positions and the larger public. Students will show different communication styles for different audiences and an awareness of their own social location by writing about it in their papers.

General Education Goals:

Multicultural Perspectives

Demonstrate understanding of culture and cultural identities as dynamic rather than fixed categories, and describe the diverse ways in which they are produced, transformed, and maintained (Practiced)

Students will describe in their assignments the ways the body is gendered and racialized in the U.S. and in other national contexts. Students will compare these processes.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of racial and ethnic formation and stratification in national and transnational contexts, considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality (Practiced)

Students will demonstrate through multimedia presentations how the body is racialized in relation to the criminal justice system or the beauty industry. Presentations will have a historical perspective to show the evolution of racial formation over time.

Describe how two or more ethnic groups have interacted in different historical contexts, and be able to discuss the dynamics of that relationship (Practiced)

Students will describe racial oppression and racial coalition building, especially among women of color, in assignments that focus on resistance to oppression across racial/ethnic groups.

Demonstrate an understanding of processes of group formation and describe how marginalized groups have used diverse strategies to challenge racism and discrimination (Practiced)

Students will outline key strategies that the disability rights movement has used in coordination with racial justice movements to challenge racism and ableism.

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of and current debates surrounding the concept of multiculturalism, particularly with regard to racism and anti-racism (Practiced)

Students will describe anti-racist movements in the field/topic that they choose for their assignment. They will also outline the critiques of the multiculturalism movement.

Deploy the necessary critical tools to reflect on the artistic, literary, and intellectual traditions of marginalized groups-both nationally and internationally-and to appreciate the diversity of human thought and experience (Practiced)

Students will attend art exhibits/performing arts events and list the ways that multicultural/multiracial intellectual traditions are engaged through the art.

Women and Gender

Demonstrate an awareness of the distinctive contributions of women to culture or history or science (Practiced)

Students will engage women and trans* authors who are cultural critics on issues of the body. In papers, students will cite and analyze the authors' work.

Demonstrate awareness of the impact of race, class, national origin, and other significant differences as well as the commonalties in women's experience (Practiced)

All student work on gender and the body will articulate lines of difference for women, men, and trans* people across race, sexuality, national origin, class, and ability.

Demonstrate familiarity with theories of gender (Practiced)

Students must incorporate key feminist thinkers into their papers and relate feminist theory ideas into their analysis in their papers.

Analyze current and past social issues pertaining to gender (Practiced)

Students will describe how alterations of the body have changed over time in relation to femininity, beauty practices, and gender status.

Demonstrate familiarity with the history and effects of feminist thought (Practiced)

Students will outline the major tenets of at least 2 schools of feminist thought and the critiques of it in one assignment for the class.

This course builds upon the skills and knowledge gained in the earlier sociology and anthropology courses and lays the groundwork for conducting original research for the senior thesis. Students will select topics for their research, construct research questions, review and analyze the existing literature, and develop proposals detailing the strategies that they will use in conducting original research.

Students will utilize multiple theoretical frameworks and sociological vocabulary to explain how historical forces, social structures, culture, and power relations shape human behavior on scales ranging from the individual to the global. (Mastered)

This is probably not actually measurable but it was pre-checked and so could not be excluded from this course. In this course it will not be relevant to all students. Each WILL be assessed on the basis of whether their work suggests an understanding of the human condition beyond their own experience. This will be a subjective assessment until such time as someone proposes a valid objective measure.

Students will gain basic skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis and will have advanced skills in at least one method of research and one method of data analysis. (Mastered)

Most senior project require actual execution of research using one or more techniques in the social science methodological tool kit. Students will be evaluated based on the degree to which their project execution demonstrates competence in the techniques they employ.

Core Goals:

Written & Oral Comm II

Students will develop skills in writing, digital presentation, and oral communication, as complementary and equal parts of college-level communication and literacy. (Mastered)

Through the process of writing their senior projects, students will gain skills in writing, revising, and editing from regular feedback from instructors. Students will also demonstrate facility with professional presentation software and receive regular feedback on oral presentation strategies.

Students will be able to move easily and fluently between different rhetorical expectations and formal registers. (Mastered)

Students will write about their projects for multiple audiences and therefore demonstrate changes in tone, style, and discourse to write effective op-eds, grant proposals, and academic research papers.

Students will develop and refine their own voice and sense of style. (Mastered)

Students will revise their written work multiple times and demonstrate the balance of personal voice, social positionality, and research report. Students will also write in their personal style in multiple venues to enhance both skills and voice.

Students will practice and refine different forms of communication that are appropriate for the multiple contexts and disciplines that they engage with. (Mastered)

Students will demonstrate their facility in writing in multiple social science contexts including grant proposals, op-ed pieces for news outlets, blogs, research reports, and longer academic research papers.

Students will understand thoroughly the relationship between form and content, (Mastered)

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the relationship between form and content by comparing their oral presentations, longer academic papers, and blogs or op-ed pieces which are all written on the same topic.

Students will understand the role of drafting, revising, presenting, and receiving, processing and using feedback as important parts of the writing process. (Mastered)

Students will create drafts of their written work that improve on previous drafts and incorporate revision and editing suggestions from peers, faculty, and other writing professionals. Students' grades are based in part on their ability to incorporate feedback and improve later versions of writing projects.

General Education Goals:

Written Communication II

B. Write clearly organized essays with the following characteristics: effective paragraphing, thesis development, transitions, use and interpretation of evidence, evidence of larger structure and organization (Practiced)

Final project to be evaluated on the basis of the aforementioned criteria.

C. Write essays that incorporate examples from other writers, demonstrate critical thinking and interpretation about the ideas of other writers, and use correct documentation for these examples (Practiced)

Final project to be evaluated on the basis of the aforementioned criteria.

D. Use draft and revision processes, demonstrate understanding of different stages of the writing process, and engage in editing and revision of peer essays (Practiced)

Over the course of the semester students produce multiple drafts in response to instructor and classmate criticism. Students to be evaluated on the degree to which they make use of this feedback to improve from draft to draft.

Produce essays and other forms of writing free from sentence level error and identify where to get further information about such errors (e.g., how to use a handbook) (Practiced)

Final project to be evaluated on the basis of the aforementioned criteria.

Be familiar with and able to use the tools and resources of an academic library in addition to Internet resources (Practiced)

This will be assessed indirectly only -- has the student successfully located resources necessary for her project. No independent measurement of the attainment of this goal will be attempted.

Be competent in the use of the citation style appropriate to a discipline (Practiced)

Final project to be evaluated on the basis of the aforementioned criteria.

SOC 194: Sociology of Mass Communication (3 Credits)

This course is designed as an introductory sociological study of mass communications. It is intended to provide an understanding of the interaction between individuals, media, and society; analytic insight into how media content is created and disseminated; and knowledge of the organizational structures of various mass media. Advertising, news, politics, gender, class, and race issues are examined.

SOC 209: The Desgn of Cities:Urban Form (1 Credits)

SOC 218: Utopian Exper: Past, Present (0.25-1.25 Credits)

SOC 225: Simulation in the Social and Policy Sciences (4 Credits)

In this advanced hands-on class, students are introduced to computer applications used for simulation and analysis in the social and policy sciences. Topics vary, but typically include advanced applications of standard desktop software, statistical packages, relational databases, network analysis, geographic information systems, intelligent agent models, and systems dynamics simulation. Data and examples are drawn from economics, history, political science, public policy, anthropology, and sociology.

Note(s): Students expected to possess basic computer skills and an openness to things mathematical and to have undertaken previous course work in social sciences beyond the introductory level.

SOC 245: Sociology of Education (4 Credits)

This course is organized around issues of diversity, acculturation, and quality in educating children and adults in the United States. Students will examine the dynamic complexities of formal education as it reflects the norms, values, mores, and traditions of the society. Utilizing structural-functionalist, symbolic interaction, and conflict theories, we will explore the processes of social control and social change endemic to the American system of education and its attendant institutions. United States educational policies are critically assessed through cross-national comparisons with coun